Sauber focused to solve pit stop failures

Back-to-back costly delays

The Kick Sauber Formula 1 team is in crisis mode working around the clock to address significant pit stop issues that have derailed their promising start to the 2024 season.

Both drivers have lost enormous chunks of time due to mechanical faults during routine stops in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Pit stop blunders

In the Bahrain season opener, Valtteri Bottas was stuck stationary for nearly 50 agonizing seconds on his second pit stop when the crew cross-threaded the wheel nut on his front axle.

The disastrous delay dropped him well down the order. The pit crew nightmare was reprised last weekend in Jeddah.

Zhou Guanyu ground to a halt for 25 seconds with the exact same cross-threading issue, ruining what was shaping up to be a potential points-scoring finish.

"We cannot afford to have an issue during the races, because the potential of the car is there to fight for the points,"

admitted team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

"And we have of course jeopardised this opportunity both in Bahrain and in Jeddah because of an issue."

Urgently seeking solutions

Sauber is leaving no stone unturned in their investigation into the root cause of the recurring pit stop failures.

The team made significant equipment changes over the offseason in an effort to increase their stop speeds, which will now be thoroughly reviewed.

"We have new equipment, we have a new design of all the parts,"

Alunni Bravi revealed.

"Of course, there is something that needs to be improved. And we are working in all the areas with a 360 degree approach."

Racing director Xevi Pujolar emphasized the immense priority being placed on finding a solution before the Australian Grand Prix.

"We need to do some further changes for Melbourne. Because we are too fragile, I would say...we just need to now investigate and try to come up with some containment for the next race, just to be more robust."

Crunch Time

While keen to deflect any blame towards the pit crew -

"It's nothing wrong with the crew, with mechanics, they are doing I would say a reasonable job"

- team management is acutely aware of the crunch nature of the situation.

The impressive race pace shown by both Bottas and Zhou in the opening rounds will count for naught if they cannot execute cleanly in the pit lane. With a tight midfield battle brewing, every second lost is critical for Sauber's hopes of mounting a competitive campaign.

"We are causing a cross thread. And it takes time, because we have to change the wheel nut,"

Pujolar stated bluntly about the costliness of the errors.

With the pressure mounting, Sauber has their work cut out solving this problem before more precious points go begging in Melbourne.